


Equal Parts Cinnamon and Nutmeg

by tooralooryeaye



Series: 2018 Hanfic Holiday Hoopla! [2]
Category: Hanson (Band)
Genre: Baking, Christmas Eve, Drabble Sequence, Family, Family Fluff, Gen, One Big Happy Family, Quadruple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-15 22:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16941582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooralooryeaye/pseuds/tooralooryeaye
Summary: Taylor's gingerbread recipe has a secret ingredient. Or does it?





	1. The Baker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boomersoonerash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boomersoonerash/gifts).



> Christmas Hanfic Drabble Challenge #2: World's Worst Gingerbread House
> 
> This was written to be gen, but you can wear cest goggles if you must!

It wasn't meant to be a competition, but Taylor would win anyway.

As December 24 drew nearer, a gingerbread village grew from a few cabins to a bustling town. Natalie frowned each time she passed it, realizing she had been duped into decommissioning her kitchen island for two weeks.

Late past bedtime on the 23rd, the mixer whirred while Taylor grounded spices in a mortar and pestle. His scotch sat untouched; Zac worked on his second.

Zac sampled the test batch. He loved the way Taylor’s recipe tingled on his tongue and warmed his chest like a fresh hot cider.


	2. Another Taste Test

Isaac arrived at Taylor and Natalie’s house only under the guise of preparing for the evening’s tradition: adults sipping hot toddies and watching holiday movies (he would never admit that _Die Hard_ was his second favorite) and the children taking in Isaac’s yearly reading of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Finally, after the last of the garland and tinsel had been groomed, and the kindling lit in the fireplace, Isaac cracked open a beer and propped his feet up on an ottoman. He’d managed to steal the last of the sample batch Zac raved about that morning: his true mission.


	3. Reveal

Heads popped up out of every corner at daybreak in various states of bedhead. A dozen cousins zipped between the two-point-five baths to scrub away any remnants of their candy and eggnog binge.

All eyes centered on the kitchen island, gifts forgotten over the display of icing, edible glitter, and shredded coconut behemoth that graced the center of the gingerbread town.

Isaac and Zac smirked at each other over their morning coffee.

The mixture on Taylor’s face of glee for his audience’s joy and the equal pain of seeing his creation demolished was one of Zac’s favorite yearly Christmas gifts.


	4. Uh Oh

Lips trembled and voices wavered. Some of them, the younger ones, paid no need and continued crunching and smacking their lips.

Questions arose.

“Dad, what did you _do_?”

“Is this a joke?”

“I can’t like this, Uncle Tay.”

Taylor’s face fell after one nibble of a broken chimney piece.

Isaac, nerves steeled after a Christmas shot of bourbon in his coffee, rushed to his brother’s aid. He gently laid a hand on Taylor’s shoulder.

“My secret ingredient,” he sighed, while crushing the remainders in the disposal, “was pepper.”

Isaac smiled. So _that’s_ what it was!

“I forgot the damned _salt_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I can't like this" is a reference to my oldest niece that I couldn't help but include :)


End file.
